


Smalltown Boy

by turnedherbrain



Category: Black Mirror, Black Mirror: Bandersnatch (2018)
Genre: First Meetings, Stefan x Colin
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-07
Updated: 2019-01-07
Packaged: 2019-10-06 05:04:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 912
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17339108
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/turnedherbrain/pseuds/turnedherbrain
Summary: Stefan and Colin meet for the first time (again). This one-shot functions as either an alternate scene, or a different path of choices entirely :D





	Smalltown Boy

Stefan was running. He was running until the air in his lungs didn’t seem enough and he was lifted up and away from the pavement. He leapt the turnstile and sprinted headlong through the underpass, the posters adorning the walls flapping in his direction. He ran onto the platform to see the rear of the train departing, bodies pressed inside all making for the city. 

He panted to a halt just before the yellow-flecked safety line, the hands that had clutched onto his satchel giving way and spilling the contents of his bag onto the platform. Walkman. Two cassettes. His vibrant foam headphones. His notebook. All his ideas. The thumbed copy of Bandersnatch. All fell onto the edge of the platform, Stefan scrabbling hastily to gather them up, leaning into the breeze to get his breath back. Pulling himself back to standing, he saw the curls of barbed wire atop the latticed fence opposite, the grey building-blocks of north London merging into a lighter grey sky. 

Shit. Shit shit shit, he reprimanded himself. He should have got up when his alarm told him. He should have made a quicker choice at breakfast. He shouldn’t have loitered. He wouldn’t make the meeting now. Wouldn’t get that first chance to make a good impression…

‘Something wrong?’ asked a voice from further down the platform. Stefan thought no-one had been there when he arrived. But there was this shock-blond apparition, tamping a roll-up against a metal case, legs lolling, splay-footed. Sitting on a bench with unstudied nonchalance, wearing a grin and an absurdly bright Hawaiian shirt and looking as if he’d just had the same experience of missing the train, but didn’t give a damn. 

‘I’m late for a meeting. That’s all,’ Stefan clutched his belongings, bringing him instant security. He didn’t talk to strangers. Ever. He wasn’t good in social situations. He wasn’t good at anything except coding and being alone, so the man’s presence made him nervous. 

The stranger rose from his seat, strolling towards him, the directness of his stride making Stefan curl in even further. But as the man got closer, Stefan had a growing realisation – shock, even – because he’d seen that face before. It couldn’t be. Fate had made him miss that train so he could meet…

‘Colin. Colin Ritman.’ The stranger stood in front of him now, much taller than he’d expected, but then the photos were always black and white portraits, mainly of him standing next to his latest game release. 

‘I-I-I,’ Stefan stumbled, fumbled, almost dropped his bag once again. The drizzle fell gently against his face while the curious breeze wrapped itself around his body. ‘You-you…’

‘I’m Colin. And who might you be, my late-for-the-train mate?’ Colin spoke every word consciously, weighing its effect on the listener. 

‘Stefan. Name’s Stefan.’ He awkwardly took Colin’s outstretched hand and shook it over-vigorously. ‘Are you THE Colin Ritman? I’ve played all your games. I’m a… I’m a fan.’

‘The one and the same,’ replied Colin, his eyebrows arched mockingly as he spoke. ‘Although I always think it doesn’t do anyone any good to meet their idols in real life. Inevitable disappointment. Are you reading that?’ Colin changed the subject abruptly, nodding towards the paperback half-hidden in Stefan’s hand – he held it like a drowning man might hold a rescue float. ‘I’ve always wondered how it ends.’

‘Well, it doesn’t. Not really, anyway,’ said Stefan, still overwhelmed by this encounter and speaking in a rush. ‘It’s got lots of different endings, depending on what you choose as a reader.’

Colin laughed and dropped his used cigarette, stamping it lightly underfoot. ‘We like to think we have choice: but even in life, aren’t we always taken down a path? Where you live – go to school – what you achieve. They’re all dictated by limited choices. 

‘Now, if you made that book into a game… the players would think they were the ones making those choices. But really, they’re not. You’re the programmer. You give them the options. You decide each path. Whether they end up triumphant, or in a darkened maze of your own making. It’s pure power.’

Colin stopped and lifted up his head momentarily, as if waiting for something. Sure enough, a flat voice promptly announced via the tannoy. ‘We’re sorry to announce that no trains will run from this station to King’s Cross due to an incident with the late-running 8:45 train. Further announcements will be made in due course, but please seek other suitable transport if possible.’

‘You see?’ laughed Colin. ‘There’s only two options for me now. Go home, or catch the bus. What about you?’

‘The same,’ replied Stefan, trying to take the overwhelming admiration out of his voice. ‘I’ll never make the meeting now.’

‘Was it with a games company? About making a game of Bandersnatch?’ asked Colin wryly, Stefan agape at his prescience.

‘How did you know?’ he asked, feeling again that he’d been here before, had almost this same conversation; that he’d had to make a choice and then see where that took him. 

‘Let’s just say I get déjà vu all the time. Are you ready?’ Colin asked, regarding him seriously now, as if he expected something more from Stefan at that moment. 

‘Yes. Yes. I mean – let’s just see where today takes us.’

‘Exactly what I thought you’d say. Let’s go, then.’

And the two figures, the taller one leading, walked into the train station underpass and into another choice.

**Author's Note:**

> The fic title 'Smalltown Boy' is the name of a Bronski Beat song released in - natch - 1984.


End file.
